-Our next guest is a talented actress and comedian
you know from her work as Meredith on "The Office."
Every episode of "The Office" is now streaming on Peacock.
Please welcome to the show our friend Kate Flannery.
Hi, Kate!
-Hey, Seth! How are ya?
-I'm good. I'm always so happy to see you.
Kate, I knew your history as an improviser in Chicago.
I did not know you were from Philly.
Is that someplace you get back to often?
-I do.
I'm one of seven kids,
and my dad is -- he's still kickin'.
He's the best. He's in his 90s.
He's hilarious.
And, yeah, I try to get home as much as I can.
I was just home in October.
I got to, like, quarantine for two weeks
in my friend's garage apartment
and then spend time with my dad.
So I kind of felt like Fonzie for a few weeks.
-[ Laughs ] You got the Fonzie life.
-I did. It was awesome.
-You mentioned you're one of seven.
You're the youngest of seven.
Is that right? -I am.
I have a fraternal twin sister,
but technically, I'm the youngest.
-Gotcha. -Damn it. [ Chuckles ]
-And now, do you feel like, being the youngest of seven,
can you track back in your life's journey
that that maybe is why you're in show business?
-Absolutely. 300%.
I mean, I don't know why I even bother
to spend money on a therapist, it's so stereotypical.
-You were a Chicago improviser.
Those must have been formative and exciting years for you.
-The greatest. The greatest.
I mean, you know, it's funny.
I work a lot with Jane Lynch now.
We do a live show together
and we did a Christmas album together.
But I realized, I figured out
the very, very first time I ever went to Second City,
Jane Lynch was onstage understudying for Bonnie Hunt
'cause it was Bonnie Hunt's wedding day.
And then Bonnie Hunt came back
to do the improv set in her wedding gown.
-[ Laughs ]
That's pretty good.
I don't think my wife would have been psyched
on our wedding night if I told her I was off to do some improv.
-I think that's why she's divorced now.
[ Laughter ]
-They say you can usually see the signs.
You can usually see the signs.
-You can't take off one night?!
One night? You can't miss one show?!
-I -- It's amazing you said that.
The first time --
One of the first times I went to Second City,
I saw Tina Fey understudying for John Glaser.
And it is -- I mean, when you look back at how lucky we were,
it was crazy who you would just see
that then over the course of the following two decades
has been exactly as successful as you kind of hoped they'd be
when you first saw them onstage.
-Absolutely. No, it's amazing.
And then, like, I also remember when I was there,
John Favreau could not get hired at Second City.
He was literally a host.
He was seating people.
[ Laughter ]
-He's -- It's a shame it didn't work out for him.
-Too bad. That's a shame.
-So, "The Office" now is not just on Peacock,
but also sort of these extra long episodes,
which are really fun for people.
I feel a growing number of people
who continue to become fans of the show every day.
What was your audition process for "The Office" like?
-Well, initially, I auditioned for the part of Jan,
who's Michael's boss, played by the beautiful Melora Hardin.
Clearly, they went in a different way.
So I actually was not in the pilot.
And I ended up replacing somebody,
and they kind of did...
I don't know, I think they were trying to figure out
who everybody was.
So I'm not even sure who...
I wasn't even sure that Meredith --
I mean, I had no idea she was gonna become
a drunk or a floozy.
But, you know, my dad owns a bar.
You know, my dad owned Flannery's Tavern for years,
so I feel like, playing an alcoholic,
I come by it quite honestly.
-It's really, um...
Don't take this the wrong way. It seems really cliché
to be a Flannery whose dad owned a bar called Flannery's Tavern.
-I know. I know. -[ Laughs ]
-You know what?
Irish people, we don't get upset about that stuff.
We just don't.
You know, I mean, Seth, I always say,
if you can't type, stereotype.
Right? [ Laughter ]
I mean, it's like, this is who we -- I --
Why not be loud and proud of who I am, you know?
-Now, you mentioned you didn't know
what the character was gonna develop into.
Like, what was the process like?
Did it sort of very slowly reveal itself over time?
-Yes. -Did writers tell new advance?
-Nobody told me in advance.
But I do remember the first Halloween episode
during season two, that's when I had
my first monologue about being an alcoholic.
And I guess it was so dark
that the network decided not to use it.
So we had to wait till Christmas
to reveal that Meredith was a drunk.
[ Laughter ]
-I think we all -- Yeah.
I mean, by Christmas, there's no secrets anymore.
-Right? I mean... -Meredith ended up --
you wouldn't have probably guessed this
from our first introduction to her --
a fair amount of stunts over the years.
-Yes!
-Did you participate in the stunts?
What was your level of engagement with those?
-I did most of my own stunts on the show.
I actually kind of loved it.
I just remember the first season, like,
Greg Daniels had asked me to dress up like Madonna
and they were just doing a still picture
with Rainn Wilson and Steve Carell
as Crockett and Tubbs.
And so I was like, "Yeah, I'll be Madonna."
Like, anything -- I was just up for almost anything.
I did not set my hair on fire in the Christmas episode,
"Moroccan Christmas." And I didn't shave my head
in the lice episode the last season.
But other than that, I've done every...
I got hit by the car, I had the bat on the head,
the bag and the -- you know.
You know, I -- everything. Did it all.
-What's the prep like
when you're, you know, somebody with an improv background
about to be hit by a car on a comedy show?
-[ Laughs ] Well, there was a safety meeting.
And Greg Daniels was trying to get me all, like, loose.
We were doing jumping jacks. And I just had to kind of roll
onto the grass and then roll off the car onto a giant mat.
[ Laughing ] That was it.
And I literally think the editor, Dave Rogers,
pushed me a little bit right before we started
just to give me the momentum.
So it was a team effort. -Nice crew.
-I did not do this by -- I cannot take credit by myself.
-It takes a village to get hit by a car on "The Office."
[ Laughter ]
-Back in your Chicago improv days, which would make sense --
that was when SNL was going and finding people to audition,
so you actually auditioned for SNL
I guess in the '90s, right?
-Yeah, I was up for SNL.
Lorne Michaels came to a show I did at the Annoyance Theatre.
I was also at Second City,
but I did another show at the Annoyance.
And he brought his good buddy
Quincy Jones, as you do. -[ Laughs ]
-Sitting in these crappy folding chairs.
And I think we had to do the show on a Tuesday night.
They had to move the show because he was coming.
And then we had lunch the next day.
And he also was looking at three other women from the show.
And so, Mike Shoemaker, your producer,
was with Lorne at the time 'cause he used to work on SNL.
And so, the process was that you would walk to lunch with Lorne
and then have lunch, and then switch and be with Michael,
or the opposite. So you'd always have somebody
to be -- like, let them have a private conversation close by,
if that makes any sense? -Yeah.
I mean, it doesn't make sense, but Lorne would do that.
[ Laughter ] -Yeah.
You know, and the thing is, like,
I'm friends with the other women that's being considered.
It was Melanie Hutsell, and she ended up getting the job.
And like, of course, I'm, like, so Catholic
that I kind of didn't know what to do.
You know, like, you don't want to be a douche bag.
You want to be happy for your friends.
But, you know, thousands of dollars of therapy later,
you go, "Okay, I guess I had a right
to be a little bummed about that. That's okay."
-Yeah, of course. -That's alright.
-Well, I think all of us are so happy
that it worked out the way it did.
It is such a delight to go back and watch that show
that is just -- it not only maintained its excellence,
it just holds so well. It just keeps so well.
And you're such a big part of it.
Thanks so much for being here, Kate.
-Thank you so much, Seth. You're the best.
-We'll see you next time. You're the best.
Every season of "The Office" is currently streaming on Peacock.